Woven fabrics prepared by subjecting high density woven fabrics, for which polyamide-based fibers or polyester-based fibers are used, to water-repellent treatment to have water resistance have heretofore been known. The woven fabrics have been widely used for cold-weather clothing such as down jackets, sportswear, outerwear and the like such as windbreakers, blousons, coats and rainwear.
However, because a high density woven fabric in general cannot be elongated, substantially, a wearer's body movement is hindered or the wearer feels pressure when taking exercise. As a result, the wearer cannot freely move, and feels uncomfortable. Moreover, the high density woven fabric provides a stiff feeling due to its high density. Furthermore, because a water-repellent treatment or resin treatment of the woven fabric for giving the fabric water resistance, etc., increases the stiffness of the woven fabric, the woven fabric becomes stiff and bulky when the wearer takes exercise or moves, and this hinders the wearer's free movement or produces a significant rustling when contacted with woven fabrics each other to make the wearer feel uncomfortable.
In order to solve these problems, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 11-81141 discloses a soft feeling high density woven fabric for which a poly(trimethylene terephthalate) fiber is used as a weft yarn and/or a warp yarn, and which is subjected to resin treatment. Moreover, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 11-200174 discloses a soft feeling high density woven fabric comprising a poly(trimethylene terephthalate) fiber for which the ratio of a covering ratio of a warp yarn to a covering ratio of a weft yarn and the sum of the covering ratios are defined, and which shows an elastic recovery of 90% or more.
Although the technologies disclosed in these patent publications improve the feeling of the woven fabric and the rustling of woven fabrics by forming the woven fabric from flexible poly(trimethylene terephthalate) fibers, the problem that the woven fabric hinders the body movement of the wearer remains unsolved because the stretchability is insufficient.
Furthermore, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 9-170175 proposes a woven fabric with improved windbreak performance and water resistance for which an extremely thin multifilament yarn, having a single filament size of 0.5 denier or less and a round-shaped cross section, is used, and in which the sum of cover factors of the warp and weft yarns is made 2,200 or more. Although such a high density woven fabric can have good water resistance, the woven fabric hinders wearer's body movement because the stretchability is insufficient.
On the other hand, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 11-256413 proposes a lining cloth having stretchability in the weft direction, excellent surface smoothness and a capability of hardly becoming loose at the seams, and showing a significant decrease in pressure on the wearer, because the lining cloth is prepared by using a poly(trimethylene terephthalate) fiber as the weft yarn and the crimp index of the weft yarn is defined.
Although stretchability is imparted to the lining cloth in the weft direction, the lining cloth cannot have good water resistance.